Facebook sees more US weekly traffic than Google for first time

The analytics firm said for the week ending 13 March, Facebook accounted for 7.07% of all US web traffic, exceeding Google’s 7.04%.

While Facebook has achieved more visits than Google on a number of specific days in the past – including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day last year – this is the first time its average weekly figures have been greater.

The year-on-year traffic increase for Facebook for the week was 185%, while Google’s was 9%.

The leapfrog by Facebook was considered an “important milestone” by Hitwise director of research Heather Dougherty and once again highlights the growing influence of the social network.

Facebook is increasingly being seen as a viable marketing channel for brands and media agencies.

Last month new media age reported that online ad budgets were being shifted from more established online direct response channels, including Google, to Facebook as its ad opportunities grow (nma 18 February 2010).

Last year the social network opened up its API to provide third parties with greater control over the creation, editing and management of campaigns, while it has also rolled out new ad inventory, including its most recent sampling ad format.

Earlier this week Facebook expanded the list of recommended app development agencies to include nine agencies from the UK

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